Method and means for deaerating liquid food products



March 21, 1939.

H. C. STEPHENS 2,151,644 lMETHOD AND MEANS FOR DEAERATING LIQUID FooD PRODUCTS Original Filed April l5, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

, 9W www ATTORNEY.

March 21,v 1939. H c.. STEPHENS 2,151,644

l METHOD AND MEANS FOR DEAERATVING LIQUID FOOD PRODUCTS Original Filed April 13, 1956 3 Sheets-*Shed*l 2 i INVENTOR.

BY y

w W l ATTORNEY.

March 21, 1939. H Q STEPHENS 2,151,644

`METHOD AND MEANS FOR DAERATING LIQUID FOOD PRODUCTS Original Filed April 13, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I W ATTORNEY.

, Patented Mar. 21, 1.939v

',METHOD AND' MEANS Foa DEAEaA'rING LIQUID Foon PRODUCTS y' Henry C. Stephens, Orange, Calif., assigner to Natural Food Products Company, Orange,

Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application April 13, 1936,- Serial No. 74,173

Renewed September 30, 19387 14 claims. (ci. ca -issy My invention relates to new and useful im` provements in method and means for deaerating liquid food products.

This present application is a continuation-inpart. as to all common subjectfmatter, of my copending application of the same title, Serial No. 619,022, filed June 24, 1932. 'This present application amplies sumey of the details of that parent case, and supports some of them by amplitled'showings. l

Y The objectrof my invention is to process and pack liquid food products of all kinds in such a way as to preserve their natural color, bouquet, avor, and vitamin' content, and at the same l5 time to eliminate the 'detinning action on the inside of ordinary unlacquered coke-tin-plated tin cans that usually occurs in products canned under ordinary canning methods today.

I have found that oxygen present either in t min the head space above the product inside the container, or in air dissolved or occluded in the product itself, whether in tin cans or even in glass containers, is the chief cause of loss of color, bouquet, flavor, and vitamin content, as

well as being the chief cause of the detinning action inside ofthe cans. I have further found that the application of heat, in pasteurization, to

' products thus exposed to. or thus containing.

oxygen, accentuates the above-mentioned detrimental eifects vupon the -product and upon the container. v Y

o Accordingly not only does it become necessary Vto remove all dissolved, occluded and surface air from both product and container before sealing,

and to ,permit the return of none before sealing;

but also it becomes highly advisable that this removal shall take place before pasteurization.

The ordinary methods of vacuum lling and/or vacuum sealingare not sumcient to remove the '40 dissolved and occluded air from liquids, for'the reason that'the suction of even a high vacuum 4is insulcient to remove such airfrom more than a few millimeters below the srface exposed to the vacuum. I have found that it is necessary to so agitate and/orso spread the liquid to be deaerated that every part of it shall receivev surface exposure to a high vacuum. l

On the other hand, I have found that air readily returns into 'deaerated products,` unless special precautions be taken, and that any agitation of the liquid during exposure to air 'after deaeration accelerates such refentry.

I have also found, contrary to former beliefs that; complete deaeration of liquid food products can actually be accomplished by the use of commercially attainable vacua, and without the substitution of any other gas. However, if the criti' cal vacuum for any given temperature of the liquid be exceeded appreciably, it will cause loss of volatiles, and will even carry the liquid across 5 the boiling pressure for that temperature, thus causing deleterious cooking and loss of liquid constituents. This is a serious danger, due to the iluctuationsin pressure which are bound to result from the inevitable fluctuations in ow of 10 `iuice both into and out of the system, and is a o practically inescapable danger in batch operation. 'Ihe available pressure range, for each temperature, increases in width as the temperature is reduced, and accordingly it is highly de- 16 sirable to precool the liquid, as the first step of my process, so as to bring it into the wider ranges; but, of course, not down to thefreenlng-a point. As a practical matter, it is desirable to cool it to below 70 F. 60 is suflicient, although 20 50 is evenpreferable. At any practical temperatures, 1" Hg pressure is an upper limit whichv ought not to be exceeded.

Based upon these observations and considerations, and for the purposeof attaining these ad- 25' vantages, I have devised the-V process and apparatus which form the subject-matter of this present patent. l o

The apparatus set forth herein, inl addition to i being a novel combination, also contains elements 30 which per se have many novel details: the inventive features thereof being in part of my own devising, in part the work of my associate Stedman B. Hear, and in part due to us both jointly. These inventive vfeatures are the subjectsmatter 35 of copending applications, as will be hereinafter specified as the description progresses.

One embodiment of an apparatus capable of performing my process on citrus juices, and

other similar liquids, is exemplified in the ac- 40 vcompanying" drawings which are hereinafter particularly described and explained.

. Throughout the description, the same refer-- ence number is applied to the same or to similar members. I' l Figure 1 is an elevation, largely conventionaliz'ed, and partly in section, of the apparatus just referred to.

Figure 2 is a vertical section of a tin can, and

its cover, especially adapted to be used with my process. Figure '2 is drawn to a very much more open scale than Figure 1.i

Figures 3 and 4 are charts, which will be more particularly described hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings, 'it will be seen that 55 or brine, or other cooling medium is circulated in any convenient manner. The importance of, having the liquid pass upwardly through the cooling coil lies in the fact that this keeps the coil always iull of liquid, and thus ensuresmaximum eillciency.

' Thence the pipe I8, with' cock Il, leads to a spray nozzle 2l, within a deaerating tank 2|.'

Within the tank there is also an ultra-violet lamp 22 and an -aluminum reector I3. This lamp serves. to add vitamin D to the product. Also to increase shelf-lite.

The liquid, after leaving the no'zzle 20, slides at nrst as a lather and then in a thin tllm'successively down the upper suriacesof vanes 24, dropping through holes 2i near the bottom of each vane onto the topoi the succeeding vane. The top, bottom and side edges of eachvvane are turned up, so`that the vane resembles a `square cake tin. The vanes are preferably of aluminum An alternative vane structure would be a series of successive erect and inverted blunt cones, with the ultra-violet lamp running up the axis of the cones in the center of the tank 2l, as shown and described in the application mentioned in the next paragraph The deeeretiiig tank and iis memded parte are more particularly described and specifically claimed in the copending joint patent of Btedman B. Hoaxand myself, No. 2,020,250, issued November` 5, 1935.

The deaerated liquid gathers inthe bottom er tank 2|, whence ii is led ou by pipen, eenmued drop isv excellent.

bycock 21, into a vacuum bell 2l.

'Ihe word bottom in this connection, and in theclalmsisnottobetakeninthenarrowsense oi' the absolute bottom of the tank, but rather means any portion of the tank below the normal level of liquid therein.

The bell should be suillciently lower than the exhausted as the tank, andyet permit free flow oiI the liquid from thetanktothebell. But thereshouldnotbetoomuch'airinthebelLor therewillbeanappreciablereaerationotthe liquid. Ihavetoundinpracticethatatentoot Thebasetottbisbellismounted onaped-V estalIl,wherebyitciinbcraisedand lowersdby awayinanyapprof' not upset thecan ordisturb its cori-v can provides a place ouv and deaerated liquid is Sto the canuntil ,it is mieu. Pedestal i8 the copendlng joint application of Stedman B.

Hoar and myself, Serial No. 616,952, tiled Junev 13, 1932, and by the process shown in the copending joint application` of Stedman B. Hoer and myself, Serial lid-752,292, iiled November 9,

1934. l Returning now to Figure 1 ofthe-present application, we see that Il is a flexible pipe leading from the can rest ll to a pipe 31, which has a three-way valve 3l. The function of this valve is to connect the pipe I1 selectively to pipe 3l leading tothe open air, or pipe 4I leading through trap 4I to vacuum pump 42. This pump ls preferably a motor driven Kinney pump and should be capable of exhausting to an absolute pressure preferably V2" Hg, or less. l

This pump also serves to exhaust the deaerating tank 2| through pipe Il, in which Il is an -automatic one-wayyalve so set as to prevent any back pressure from entering the tank.

susV

/ The use ofthe one-way valve,- the three-way valve, and the trap, permits theuse oilafsingle pump to exhaust both the tank andthe bell, thus saving the expense of a second pump.

41 is a temperature gauge, and is apressure gauge, which elements were' implied in the parent Turnlngnowtolligurelweseethat isa tincan,and4lisitsterracedccver.1twillbe evident that, if such a can be illled full ci deaerated liquid, and the cover be then applied, there will be, entrapped within the can, no air vfrom which the deaerated liquid can reabsorb omen. Y

It is to be understood that any ot the hereinabove described parts of my apparatus may be supplanted by some other' mechanism which will accomplish the same step in my process, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Turning now to the chart which forms Figure 3, we see that its vabscissas represent pressure in inches of mercury, and that its ordinates represent temperatures in `degrees Fahrenheit of the liquidbeing processed. This chart bears tour plotted curves. as follows:

The curve labeled Boiling'point oi water is well-known. It represents the pressure-temperaatwhichwaterwiliboil.

The curve' labeled Boiling point ot orange Juice" represents the pressure-temperati'ire com- '.Dletc loss'of volatiles.

The curve labeled "Loss of .v olatlles represents vthe pressuretemperature combinations at which maximum loss oi' the aromatic volatiles from citrus Juices occurs. Although based upon sxperimentatiomits location can at best be merely approximate.

'nie eurve labeled' "recel sexue-v Vsentsthepressurecombinationsat temperature ,'whichandtothelettotwhichtotaldsaeratlon is possible. e

. Ihisphenomenonotth'eexistsnoeofacrltical pointoftotaldeserationwastotallyunnredktble, and in rect its non-existence was clearly incated. Prior experimentation, withpressures ttainable by ordinary commercial 'vacuuml the pressure in question.

pumps, indicated that total deaeration was attainable only at absolute zero pressure; except, of course, by raisingthe temperature to the boiling point. Boiling the liquid is obviously undesirable. Absolute zero is itself unattainable, and any near approach to it is commercially nonfeaslble. Accordingly prior art experimentors stopped off at pressures in the vicinity of 2'( Hg, assuming that any further increaseI in vacuum would vary the percentage of extracted air only as a matter of degree.

To illustrate the extreme plausibility of this prior `art belief, I append the chart of Figure 4,

in which the abscissas are pressure in inches of mercury, and the ordinates are percentage of remaining air (the'quantity of air at atmospheric pressure being .taken as 'The experiment was performed on Valencia orange-juice at 60 Fahrenheit, under strict laboratory conditions, and confirms the conclusions of myself and associates based on much earlier commercial deaeration.

In Figure 4, the solid black line represents the asymptotically determined remaining air, which would remain after 100%`eicient deaeration, at This much ofthe curve lies within the range of pressures feasibly producible by the ordinary commercial vacuum pump (i. e., from 5" Hg to 2" Hg). The double line shows that this solid black curve would, if extrapolated, pass directly through the origin of coordinates; thus clearly indicating that complete deaeration is unattainable even inthe laboratory, and that commercially it is not even approachable. l.

But the dotted line shows the true facts, namely that the actual curve, instead of following the predicted double line, takes a sudden drop, and

crosses the X-axis almost vertically at 1" Hg,

Similar curves can be plotted for other juiceteznperatures, and each will show a 'critical pressure of complete deaeration for that temperature.

These critical temperature-pressure combinations I have been collected to form the Total deaeration curve'of Figure 3.

The Totaldeaeration curve, thus derived, is based upon experiments performed on Valencia orange juice of Brix 13. Experiments with Valencia orange juice of other degrees of sweetness, and with grapefruit juice and navel orange juice, produce the same curve, and indicate that it is substantially applicable to other liquid food products.

Figures 3 illustrates the importance of precoollng the juice well below 70 F., in order to have a wide enough range, between the Scylla of incomplete deaeration and the Charybdis of loss of volatiles and even boiling, so as to permit the fluctuations of pressure inevitably resulting from the fiuctuations of juice-flow which are unavoidable in commercial practice.A

The Loss of volatiles curve of Figure 3, al.- though its exact nature has not yet been theoretically determined, is somewhatanalogous to a boiling-point` curve: lthat is to say; like the curve of boiling-point of water, it is preceded (toits right) by curves of various percentages of vapor that saturated air, extracted therefrom, can hold. These additional curves, although quantitatively derivable mathematically for water vapor, and although qualitatively known to exist for citrus juices and other liquid food products, are not a' quantitatively known with sufficient exactness in this connection, to plot them on Figure 3. Nor is this necessary.- For, inasmuchas these waterjuice-flow, but also will vapor curves cross the line of total deaeration at a slant, and `as the volatile line is even more inclined than the Water boiling-point line, it follows that these curves of-vaporization would cross-the line of total deaeration at even more of a slant than the curves of vaporization of water.` Accordingly it follows that, the lower the temperature of the liquid, the less not only will be the danger of a boiling away of the volatiles due to a slight pressure-drop due to fluctuation in be the less loss of volatiles due to vaporization of volatiles at the temperature-pressure combination in question. Hence the importance of precooling. Commercial practice has veried these theoretical considerations. A number of years of commercial processing of various liquid foodproducts have incontrovertibly demonstrated that when we precooled we always retained volatiles which we lalways lost when We did not pretotally deaerated with precooling, are comparatively subjected to lower and lower pressures at any same temperature, the latter will first exhibitvisual signs of boiling, thusindicating its retention of these volatiles which boil at a higher pressure than does the basic liquid. A further reason for precooling is that, at lower temperatures, and the consequent'lower pressures necessary to secure total deaeration, the inherent capacity limitations of even the best commercial pumps obtainable constitute a the fluctuation in juice-flow causing a pressuredrop dangerously close to the boiling-point.y

There are two further reasons for precooling, and particularly for precooling to below 70 F. In the first place, due to theiluctuation of the natural air temperature during the orange season, precooling to somewhere near the lower limit of this fluctuation lsadvisable, so as to ensure uniformity of product. juice immediately after extraction and then holdit chilled until processing has been completed, is

'deaeration of a minimum of 120 gallons'of liquid per hour with vanes 24 of a size 24" long by 12" buffer against Secondly, chilling the wide, and all other parts in proportion. It gives af continuous operation, taking about l5 seconds in deaerator 2|. `This is much more rapid than comparable batch operation.

Ina continuous process, the constant flow ofy undeaerated liquid will keep furnishing air to occupy thecapacity of the pump, and thus tend to prevent the inevitable drop of pressure toward 'the boiling-point, which would occur in a batch system, upon completion of deaeration.

In the claims, wherever equations are given, T will represent `the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, and "P the pressure ininches of mercury.

yThe equation for the curve of complete deaeration is: l

P=0.02T0.2 The curve of boiling point of water, calculated from already-known data is:

P=0.3954-0.0153'15T+0.0002909T2 This equation is suiiiciently close for all practical purposes within the range with which the present problem -is concerned.

The curve of the boiling point of orange juice has been' empirically determined to be very closely approximated by the following equation:

In the claims, all temperatures are given in degrees Fahrenheit.

In the claims the term simple deaeration" will be used, for brevity, to mean the removal of dissolved, occluded and entrained air by the use of vacuum, without the substitution of any other gas.

Having now described and illustrated one form of my apparatus,`I Wish it to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts hereinbefore described, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a method for deaerating a liquid food product, the step which consists'in continuously filming the liquid through a vacuum chamber wherein there is. maintained aV pressure between P=0.02T-0.2 (in which -P is the pressure within the chamber in inches of mercury, and T is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid), and the maximum pressure at which boiling of the liquid occurs at said temperature.

2. In a method for de'aerating a liquid food product, the step which consists in continuously introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein there is maintained a pressure at or below P=0.02T0.2, in which P is the pressurel within the chamber in inches of mercury, and T is thc temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid, said temperature being below 70, and therein maintainingthe air-containing liquid in a state of substantial surface exposure.

3. In a method for deaerating` a liquid food product, the step which consists in continuously introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein there is maintained a pressure at or below P=0.02T0.2, in which P is the pressure within the chamber in inches of mercury, and

lT is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid,

said pressure being a vacuum of more than. 29 inches of mercury, and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid in a state of substantial surface exposure.

4. In a method for deaerating -a liquid food product, the step which consists in continuously introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein there is maintained a pressure at or below P=0.02T0.2, in which P is the pressure y within the chamber in inches of mercury, and

T is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid, said temperature being below 70, and said pres' sure being a vacuum of more than 29 inches of mercury, and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid in a state of substantial surface exposure.

5. In a method of deaerating a liquid'food product, the steps which consist in first precooling the liquid, and then continuously introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein there is maintained a pressure at or below P=0.02T0.2, in which P is the pressure within the chamber in inches of mercury, and T is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid, said ytemperature being below 70, and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid in a state of substantial surface exposure.

6. In a method of deaerating a liquid food product, the steps which consist in first precooling the liquid, and then continuously introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein there is maintained a pressure at or below P=0.02T0.2, in which P is the pressure within the chamber in inches of mercury, and T is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid,.said pressure being a vacuum of more than 29 inches mercury, and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid in a state of substantial surface exposure.

7. In a method of deaerating a liquid food product, the steps which consist in first precooling the liquid, and then continuously introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein there is maintained a. pressure at or below P=0.02T0.2, in which P is the pressure within the chamber in inches of mercury, and T is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid, said temperature being below 70, and said pressure being a vacuum of more than 29 inches of mercury, and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid in a state of substantial surface exposure.

8. In amethod for deaerating a liquid food product. the steps which consist in continuously introducing the liquid into alvacuum chamber wherein there is maintained a pressure at or below P=0.02T0.2 (in which P is the pressure within the chamber in inches of mercury, and T is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid); and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid boiling.

9. In a. method for deaerating a liquid food product, the steps which consist in continuously introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein 'there is maintained a pressure between P=0.02T-0.2 (in which P is the pressure within the chamber in inches of mercury, and T is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid) and the maximum pressure at which boiling of the liquid occurs at said temperature; and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid in a state of constant surface exposure.

A10. In a method fordeaerating a liquid food product, the steps which consist in first precooling the liquid and then continuously introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein there is maintained a pressure between P=0.02T0.2 (in which P is the pressure within the chamber in inches of mercury, and T is the temperature Fahrenheit of the liquid) and the maximum pressure at which boiling of the liquid occurs at said temperature; and therein maintaining the aircontaining liquid .in a state of constant surface exposure.

11. In an apparatus for continuously processing liquid food products, the combination of: a liquid reservoir; means for precooling the liquid;- a conduit joining these two elements; a vacuum chamber containing means for maintaining the air-containing liquid in a state of substantial surface exposure; a conduit joining the precooling means to the chamber; means for exhausting the chamber to below the critical pressure at which complete simple deaeration of the liquid is v from this chamber.

product, the steps which consist-in 12. In a. method for Adeaeratingca, liquid food introducing the liquid into a vacuum chamber wherein there-is maintained a pressure at`or below the critical pressure at Whichcomplete simple deaeration of Athe liquid is possible at the ternperature of the liquid, and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid in a state of substantial surface exposure 13. In a. method for deaera-ting a liquid'food j product, the steps which consist in continuously introducing the wherein there is liquid .into a 'vacuum chamber maintained a pressure between the critical pressure at which complete simple deaeration of the liquid is possible at the temcontinuously perature oi' the liquid and the maximum pressure at which boiling of the liquid would occur at the temperature of the liquid, and therein maintaining the air-containing liquid in a. state of substantial surface exposure.

14. In a method for deaerating a liquid food product, the steps which consist in first precociing the liquid, and then continuously introducing the liquid into avacuurn chamber whereinthere is maintained a pressure at or below the-critical pressurerat whichoomplete simple deacration of the liquid is possible at the precooled temperature of the liquid, and therein maintaining the aircontaining liquid in a state oi* substantial surface exposure.

HENRY C. STEPHENS. 

